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India Pledges Support as Nepal Continues Massive Search After Border Collapse

India sent specialist forensics teams along with a tunnel-rescue unit to help identify victims and support rescue work during an investigation into a suspected ice-and-rock collapse.

Overview

  • A sudden collapse near the NepalTibet border on August 26 devastated towns in northern and central Nepal and has prompted large-scale search and rescue operations.
  • Nepal authorities reported the death toll at 903 with nearly 4,250 people still missing as teams continue to recover bodies and search for survivors.
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, signed the condolence book, and publicly pledged that India will stand "shoulder to shoulder" with Nepal for search, rescue and rehabilitation.
  • New Delhi has sent multiple relief consignments, a 19-member specialised DNA-forensics team to help identify remains and a tunnel-rescue unit to assist operations in the hard-to-reach mountain terrain.
  • The disaster struck remote, avalanche-prone terrain where freezing, rock debris and floodwaters complicate recovery and identification efforts, raising the need for sustained international aid and long-term rehabilitation for affected communities.